Protecting Your Business: A Brief Introduction to IP Laws

For entrepreneurs out there, in the Business Gotham, the biggest threat is not a fragile economy or the everchanging government policies…

The threat lies elsewhere, coming from more established business competitors, who tend to steal the fruit of their labours by imitating and reproducing whatever innovative concept entrepreneurs come out with, stripping them of everything that which they might call their ‘own’.

The Bradford Thornes of this cruel world!

However, that does not mean entrepreneurs can’t do anything to protect the tangible(s) of their innovative thinking. They can take help of law.

Nah! We are not talking about filing a lawsuit here.

There are laws in every country that protect businesses from intellectual property theft by registering an asset (it could be a business name, a product, a technology, a design or anything else) in the name of true owner and prohibit anyone else from imitating and reproducing the asset in their own name.

These laws are collectively referred to as intellectual property laws or simply IP laws, and in this post, we’ll be taking a quick look at them.

IP Laws in the UK

When it comes to protecting an intellectual property in the UK (any property that adds value to a business or a product derived from a creative process), all of the country’s intellectual property laws are set and covered under the Copyright, Designs and Patent Act 1998.

IP Laws Not Only Protect Businesses Against Risks of Imitation or Reproduction…

Where a competitor might copy an intellectual property, and reproduce it with subtle changes — so to avoid the tag of ‘imitation’ — IP laws can deter and stop them from doing so, even in such cases too.

Different Types of IP Laws

There are different types of IP laws enacted to protect different types of intellectual properties, under different circumstances and situations. The most common IP laws are:

Copyright

These protect literary or art works. For example, publications, paintings, sound recordings, cable programmes, films etc.

Trademarks

These set of IP laws protect the brand identity of a business. The brand identity could be a business’s name, logo, slogan and everything else that makes it a ‘brand’.

Patents

Patents protect inventions – not only the product itself, but also it’s working mechanism. A patented product or technology cannot be reproduced with a different design or additional features if it works on the same principle and serves the same function.

Design Rights

A set of IP laws which protect the design or appearance of a product and prohibits anyone from copying it.

Enforcing Intellectual Property Rights

The right to protect one’s intellectual property can be acquired by applying at the Intellectual Property Office. Each type of IP law has specific set of eligibility criteria and it’s important for entrepreneurs to understand them before applying for registration.

Interested in knowing more about protecting your business through IP laws or need help with registering for intellectual property rights?

Feel free to reach out, our expert solicitors would be happy to serve you.